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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23295796">Tempering the Edge</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuriouslyCheekyCheye/pseuds/CuriouslyCheekyCheye'>CuriouslyCheekyCheye</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>All That Glitters Must Be A Rock [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kingdom Hearts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Also need to add more to gems, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Don't copy to another site, Donald is anger, Fluff, Gen, I'm here to write fluff and break hearts, Kairi gets her gem, Lonely Naminé (Kingdom Hearts), Parent Goofy (Disney), Riku smells darkness, Someone help this girl, gem au, get sora some training, mentions Max and his friends, no beta we die like men, they're just having a nice time</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 11:47:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,468</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23295796</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuriouslyCheekyCheye/pseuds/CuriouslyCheekyCheye</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sora's adventure continues, and he learns as he grows. But there's only so much he can do before he reaches Hollow Bastion, where he must face Riku, and save Kairi. </p><p>In the end, he's not the only one who has to face trials, and the price is not his alone to pay. </p><p>What is their toll, when all is said and done?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Donald Duck &amp; Goofy &amp; Sora (Kingdom Hearts)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>All That Glitters Must Be A Rock [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1530383</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Heeeyyy everyone. You may have noticed me not posting for a bit, and what can i say? Senior year in high school is nuts. And our one week vacation has been extended by at least three weeks thanks to Covid 19. So, uh... here's a chapter to make it better. Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sora, Goofy and Donald file onto the Gummi Ship, tired and absolutely <em>covered</em> in desert sand. Donald swears he can feel the grains between his feather follicles. Goofy has the audacity to laugh at him.</p>
<p>“C’mon now, Donald,” He chuckles as he closes the door behind Sora. “It ain’t that bad! I’ve got more sand on me than you do anyway.” He showcases this by lifting his hat, from which a small pile pours on his head and down his shoulders.</p>
<p>Donald huffs and crosses his arms. “That isn’t fair! You have fur and I have feathers, and fur is a hundred times easier to clean!” He complains. Sora, the brat, snickers.</p>
<p>“Quiet, you!” Donald snaps, causing Sora to slap his hand over his mouth. It doesn’t help. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up…” Stupid Sora with his stupid hair that doesn’t cover his entire body. All <em>he</em> has to do is shake out that ridiculous mess he calls hair, and he’s fine. Donald is going to have to sit for hours to pick the sand out from between his feathers.</p>
<p>Goofy will probably… probably-</p>
<p>“I know what you’re thinking!” He screeches at his seconds-away-from-being-murdered-friend. “Don’t you dare-!” Goofy shakes himself like a wet dog and sand goes flying everywhere, including his closest victim. Donald turns red and lets loose his signature Warble of Rage.</p>
<p>To Sora, it sounds like he’s trying to scream loose his tonsils. He finds it hilarious.</p>
<p>It’s not so funny when he finds the entire Gummi Ship is now covered in a layer of dust. His <em>‘oh-oh’ </em>alert Donald, who is trying his very best to strangle Goofy, and Goofy, who is holding him at bay via lifting him up by the back of his shirt. Goofy cringes.</p>
<p>“Shucks, sorry fellas.” He apologises, putting Donald down and rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Donald growls and shoves an accusing finger into Goofy’s stomach. “Now look what you’ve done, you big palooka!” He scolds. Goofy winches.</p>
<p>“It’s not that bad,” Sora chirps from the side, wiggling out of his belts and jacket. He starts whipping it around. “We’ll have to sweep anyway, so we might as well.” The sand he unleashes just so happens to be aimed at Donald. Donald, like the hair-trigger temper he embodies, is set off again.</p>
<p>“Ah-hyuck! I guess you’re right, Sora.” Goofy laughs, subtly moving a supply box into Donald’s way with his foot. Donald trips over it, which gives Sora the split second he needs to realize what he just did, and another second to yelp and escape to his bunk where he can burrow underneath.</p>
<p>Goofy shakes his head at their antics and starts working on his own clothes.</p>
<p>Eventually, Donald calms down and Sora comes out of hiding, and the three idly chat while cleaning up. Sora then sets the course to their next destination while Donald keeps a careful eye on him and Goofy sweeps. It’s a nice calm after the chaos that was Agrabah.</p>
<p>Sora quickly gets bored.</p>
<p>“You said you have a King, right? What are your jobs?” He asks. They immediately perk up. Donal speaks first.</p>
<p>“I’m the Royal Magician!” He boasts, chin up and chest out.</p>
<p>“So your job is to do cool magic?” Because ‘Royal Magician doesn’t really tell him much.</p>
<p>Donald snorts. “No! It’s my duty to oversee the magical defences around the world, and research different methods and ingredients that can be used to make more effective potions and enchantments.” He brags. There’s a moment of silence, and then he peeks to the side. “I get to do cool magic too.” Sora cheers.</p>
<p>“I’m the Captain of the Royal Guard!” Goofy says cheerfully, standing at attention with a hand to his chest and his shield wielder proudly. “It’s my job to lead the knights and soldiers and to help train the recruits. We protect the citizens and the castle, ah-hyuck!”</p>
<p>“Cool!” Sora comments, bouncing on his seat. “So is it like magic does defence and knights do attack? Cause that’s kinda what it sounds like.” He sticks his head in hand and looks at them curiously. Goofy scratches his head and sits down. “I guess so.” He answers.</p>
<p>“No!” Donald scowls at them. “We do way more than that! The magicians help with building things too, like homes if there’s an earthquake, and the knights sometimes do community service to build morale. There’s way more to it than just offence and defence.”</p>
<p>Goofy nods, “That’s true.”</p>
<p>“That makes sense I guess,” Sora says. “But why does Goofy fight with a shield? Shouldn’t a knight have a sword instead?” He doesn’t want to offend, but… <em>C’mon</em>, it’s in <em>all </em>the stories. A heroic knight will ride in on a white horse with a polished sword to slay the dragon. A knight with a shield?</p>
<p>“Yup!” Goofy only nods decisively. “Most of my men prefer them, but it doesn’t work for everyone. I leave mine back home ‘cause I prefer my trusty shield.” He pats it affectionately. “I can throw it, I can swing it, and it’s heavy enough to do damage but blunt enough not to hurt me.”</p>
<p>“<em>Why</em> not a sword, though?” Sora asks, fully absorbed in the explanation.</p>
<p>Donald answers for him, “Back when we were recruits, he was way too lanky.” He snickers. “He kept tripping over everything, so having a sword was a hazard.”</p>
<p>“At least I didn’t electrocute my entire squad,” Goofy retorts. “Four times.”</p>
<p>“Why you!”</p>
<p>“So you teach people how to fight?” Sora interrupts. He has no idea what time it is –would a clock even work when they go to so many worlds? - but it’s way too late for another argument.</p>
<p>“I sure do, ah-hyuck!”</p>
<p>“A Keyblade is kinda like a sword. Could you teach me something?” Sora asks excitedly. “If you’re the Captain, then you’ve got to be good at it!”</p>
<p>Goofy ducks his head and blushes. “Aww, I ain’t all that.”</p>
<p>Donald shakes his head and like a loyal, helpful friend, throws him into the fire. “You taught Max and P.J. how to fight, and they were only a little better than him!” He elbows Sora before Sora can elbow him.</p>
<p>Goofy smiles, “I did, didn’t I? My Maxie’s grown so much! Why it feels like only yesterday that he was running around the grounds poking P.J. with his training sword. Now he’s a menace with that double-ended spear.” Sora’s eyes go wide with admiration. “Whoa, really?”</p>
<p>“Yup! P.J likes his mace more, and Donald taught Bobby to be a great magician. Those three make a real good team.”</p>
<p>“Bobby is still insane,” Donald complains, slumping with his head in his hands. “I don’t know how he turns every spell into cheese. I just don’t get it.”</p>
<p>“Huh? What do you mean?”</p>
<p>“Fire? It smells like burned cheese. Aero? There’s <em>cheese</em> flying around. Cure? The flowers are <em>cheese!</em> And can you guess what Waterga is?” Donald is starting to look a little manic. “Come on, <em>guess.</em>”</p>
<p>Sora shuffles a bit to the left, partiality off his chair. <em>Y’know, just in case.</em></p>
<p>“Cheese?” He tries slowly.</p>
<p>“<em>Cheese!</em>” Donald screeches in a warble, throwing his hands in the air. “He hits you with a torpedo of <em>string! Cheese!</em>” He spends the next minute screaming and stomping the floor. Sora and Goofy leave him to it.</p>
<p>“So can you teach me something? Please?” Sora needs to get an edge over the Heartless, cause the further they get into their journey, the stronger they seem to become. And after what happened in…</p>
<p>His thoughts stammer for a second and turn to a darker road. Riku.</p>
<p>What happened to him? Why did he kidnap Pinocchio? What the dust is he doing?</p>
<p>Sora feels his gem get heavier when he thinks about what Riku said. He knows it’s just him being a jerk again, but the way he stared at Sora when he said it-</p>
<p>
  <em>You only seem interested in running around and showing off that Keyblade these days.</em>
</p>
<p><em>Do you even </em>want<em> to save Kairi?</em></p>
<p>What kind of question was that? Why did Riku look so doubtful when he asked it? <em>Of course</em>, Sora does! But Riku said it like Sora was just pretending, like when they had races on the beach that Sora didn’t want to win because he felt too disconnected that day. Seriously, what the dust?</p>
<p>So now Sora wants to be better, because clearly, he hasn’t been doing enough, looking hard enough. Riku is trying way harder, and he might have already found her. But now he’s looking for a… Heart.</p>
<p>Did Kairi lose her Heart?</p>
<p>“Sora? Sora? You okay in there?” Goofy’s hand waves in front of his face and startles him out of his spiral. He and Donald are looking at him with concern.</p>
<p>“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m totally fine. You were saying?” He smiles brightly. No need to worry anyone with some silly thoughts. He’s probably just being overdramatic. Sora just needs to work harder and learn faster, then he can get to Riku and Kairi and they can go home.</p>
<p>Goofy doesn’t look so sure, but he nods. “Well, the first thing I’d recommend is strength training. Summon your Keyblade for a sec please?” He requests. Sora does, then stands when Goofy motions for him too.</p>
<p>“Alright, you see how it’s almost as high as your armpits? That means it’s too big for you.” He demonstrates, taking the Keyblade and holding it vertical against Sora. “And from the way you fight I’d say too heavy too. Usually, you’d want it at about your belly button.” He tells Sora, handing it back.</p>
<p>Sora frowns and tilts his head. “I guess, but I can’t really change my Keyblade can I? Besides with Keychains,” He adds on. The three think for a bit, then Sora lights up.</p>
<p>“Whatever,” He says, unsummoning the Keyblade and returning to his seat. “I’m fourteen, I can’t be that far away from a growth spurt. Then it won’t be too big.” He decides. The other two nod.</p>
<p>Goofy then says, “Unless someone puts a brick on your head. I hear that can keep kids short.” He laughs.</p>
<p>Sora turns to Donald, deciding, <em>meh, it’s not </em>that<em> late</em>. “Is that what happened to you, Donald?”</p>
<p>“Why you- I ought’ ta-!” Sora and Goofy chortle at him.</p>
<p>Maybe he should try that on Riku. Then he won’t get to tease him on the two - <em>only two! -</em> inches he has on him. But then again, that doesn’t stop Kairi and she’s shorter than both of them.</p>
<p>A thought for another day. Right now he can feel himself drifting off, and Donald and Goofy’s voices are becoming muffled the deeper he falls.</p>
<p>The last thing he registers is a blanket being tucked around him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Wow! A chapter two days after the first one? When usually they take at last two weeks? Amazing! The power of boredom is stronger than my procrastination, it seems.</p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s gone wrong, it’s all gone <em>so</em> wrong.</p><p>Donald and Goofy left him. <em>They left him behind</em>. In a scary world where he can’t get away and doesn’t know how to go forward, with nothing but a wooden sword that can do little more than nothing to the Heartless. They left because he doesn’t have the Keyblade.</p><p>Riku has it now. The Keyblade decided he was too <em>weak</em> and went to Riku’s hand. Then Riku rubbed it in his face and threw his old, battered and chipped wooden sword at his feet. He left and took Donald and Goofy with him.</p><p>He doesn’t want to cry, but there’s not much else he can do now. The sword is useless, and he’s terrible at doing magic without a conduit- he’s- <em>he’s</em> useless…</p><p>Grunting and stuttering footsteps come closer, then pass him. He looks up to find the Beast struggling forward and pushes his own troubles away when he falls.</p><p>“Hey, don’t move! You’re hurt.” He climbs to his feet and rushes to the Beast’s side, putting a hand on his shoulder and holding the other arm forward as though he could actually help.</p><p>“Why…” The Beast pants to him, pained and tired. “Why did you… you come here?” He looks to the castle, and Sora looks there too. “I came to fight for Belle.”</p><p>He stands again and Sora backs up.</p><p>“And though I am on my own, I will fight.”</p><p>Sora… Sora came here to save Kairi. To save Riku. To stop Maleficent from taking both his friends. But now, it seems all of them are gone. He’s not sure he can fight like Beast can.</p><p>“I won’t leave without her. That’s why I’m here.”</p><p>He struggles further. Sora stands there, breathing against the weight in his chest, and glances back at the wooden sword.</p><p>He refuses, he thinks, picking up the sword and holding it in the steady grip Goofy taught him. Fingers tight and in the center of the handle. He <em>won’t </em>let that witch take his most precious people.</p><p>He comes to stand next to Beast and lifts his head high. “Me too.” He declares to the world. “I’m not gonna give up now. I came here to find someone very important to me too.” The words ring loud, and he uses them to make the ground beneath him feel more solid than he does.</p><p>He’ll be dust before he quits. It’s all he can do.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Riku doesn’t glance back at his new followers. Why should he? They’re Sora’s friends, after all.</p><p>Not <em>good</em> friends though. This dumb metal rod goes to someone else and so do they? Can you be any more pathetic? Then again, they’re practically perfect for him, seeing as Sora left him and Kairi in the dust too. It could almost be called ironic if it wasn’t so sad.</p><p>No, don’t you <em>dare </em>feel bad for him, Riku tells himself. You held out your hand, you gave him a chance, don’t you dare feel bad that <em>he</em> didn’t take it.</p><p>“Hey,” One of the idiots behind him says. “I notice you got one of them, uh, what do you call ‘em?”</p><p>“Gems.” The other pipes. His voice is high pitched and grates on his ears, so Riku assumes that’s the duck. The other one must be the dog, then.</p><p>“Yeah, that! I see you got one on your arm. Which one is that?” He seems genuinely curious. Riku contemplates if he should indulge them. There isn’t any harm in it, he supposes. There’s still a while of walking before they get to the room where they’ll meet Sora again.</p><p>“Chrysocolla.”</p><p>“Oh, Sora told us about that!” The dog says cheerfully.</p><p>“Didn’t he say those were green and blue? Yours is black!” The duck growls at him. “Your lying.”</p><p>Riku finally looks back at them, if only to send them a scowl. “I <em>think</em> I know what gem I was born with, thanks.” He retorts sharply.</p><p>It’s quiet after that, and his eyes can’t help but be drawn to his gem. It <em>is</em> looking pretty dark. If he didn’t know what colours it actually is, he’d say it’s black too, but he can see the specks of green trying to shine through.</p><p>He worried when he noticed his gem becoming darker, and had even asked Maleficent about it, but she had done nothing but frown at it and say he was fine. It’s part of using the Darkness, she said. It’s no surprise if it changes him slightly.</p><p>He still feels uneasy about it, but lately, that worry has been going away. It isn’t hurting him, and he’s becoming stronger every day.</p><p>He never notices how harder it is to think about it, how it feels like he has less and less control ever his own body. He’s getting closer to his goal. Soon he will… he’ll…</p><p>Save Kairi.</p><p>
  <em>Reach Kingdom Hearts.</em>
</p><p>It won’t be much longer. He just needs to take care of Sora and these buffoons behind him.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>They’ve made it into the castle, but that’s only the first step. Sora and Beast cautiously enter through the huge doors, keeping their eyes out for Heartless. Their footsteps echo in the wide empty space, and Sora shifts anxiously, peeking over his shoulder constantly.</p><p>Beast growls next to him, “Be on your guard. They’re close, I can feel it. Are you ready for them?” He looks down at Sora. Sora nods.</p><p>He moves forward, but Beast doesn’t follow. He instead calls out, “Belle?” then a second later screams in rage. When Sora looks, the doors are already closing, separating them.  </p><p>Sora hardly has a second to panic when he hears Riku.</p><p>“Quit while you can.”</p><p>There they are, all three of his currently conscious friends. He can’t bear to look at Donald and Goofy, for however uncertain they look, so he focuses on Riku.</p><p>“No. Not without Kairi.” <em>And you.</em> But he doesn’t want to make Riku angrier. The angrier he gets, the less likely it is he’ll listen.</p><p>Then Riku does something none of them expected. A dark mist surrounds him, like when their Island had been destroyed, and his clothes turn into some sort of dark suit made from tendrils, almost like muscle fibres wrapped around his skin. “The darkness will destroy you.” He says confidently.</p><p>Sora takes a step forward. “You’re wrong, Riku.” He tells him. “The darkness may destroy my body, but it won’t destroy my heart.” <em>Not like it’s destroying you.</em> He can see Riku’s gem, the only thing that, along with his head, isn’t covered.</p><p>It looks like onyx or obsidian. It’s as though someone took his gem and melted charcoal into it. Which brings up the question:</p><p>
  <em>What happens to gems like us when Darkness seeps in?</em>
</p><p>Sora gulps. <em>Riku…</em></p><p>“My heart will stay with my friends. It’ll never die!” He continues, bringing his hand to his chest, right over his gem, and putting on his bravest face. He can’t think too much now; he has a job to do.</p><p>“Really…” Riku doesn’t seem impressed. He draws his arm back. “We’ll just see about that!” He lunges forward, and some kind of spell launches out of his hand. Sora cries out and flinches back. It’s too fast, he won’t be able to dodge-!</p><p>“Sora ain’t gonna go anywhere!” Sora didn’t realize he’d closed his eyes until he opens them again. Goofy’s in front of him now, holding out his trusty shield and blocking the spell. Sora’s never felt such relief.</p><p>“You’d betray your king?” Riku taunts.</p><p>“Not on your life!” Goofy smiles back at Sora. “But I’m not gonna betray Sora either, ‘cause he’s become one of my best buddies, after all we’ve been through together.” He throws Sora a thumbs up with his free hand. He then looks forward and waves at Donald.</p><p>“See ya later, Donald.” He calls over. “Could ya tell the king I’m really sorry?”</p><p>“Hold on, Goofy! We’ll tell him together!” Donald joins them.</p><p>“Well, you know…” he says nervously. “All for one and one for all.”</p><p>“I guess you’re stuck with us Sora.”</p><p>“Thanks a lot… Donald, Goofy.”</p><p>The hurt that’s been stewing in the back of his gem settles a little. It’s not perfect, and it’s not gone, but Donald and Goofy are back. They aren’t leaving him behind again. The thought gives him strength.</p><p>“How will you fight without a weapon?” Riku scoffs at them, looking as self-assured as ever.</p><p>“I know now I don’t need a Keyblade. I’ve got a better weapon. My heart.” Sora says. He goes to stand two feet in front of Donald and Goofy; their usual attack position. It’s good to fall back into a comfortable pattern.</p><p>Riku snorts, “Your heart?” The jerk looks so amused. “What good will that weak little thing do for you?” He waves his hand dismissively.</p><p>“Although my heart may be weak, it’s not alone. It’s grown with each new experience, and it’s found a home with all the friends I’ve made.” Sora smiles over his shoulders at Donald and Goofy.</p><p>“I’ve become a part of their heart just as they’ve become a part of mine.” His speech gains passion. “And if they think of me now and then… if they don’t forget me… then our hearts will be one.”</p><p>The wooden sword that he tucked into his belt when they entered is smoothly slid out, and he takes his self-taught fighting stance. “My friends are my power!”</p><p>Riku gets two seconds to laugh at him, then the Keyblade turns to light in his hand and vanishes. He looks over in shock to Sora, where it takes the place of the wooden sword. He scowls and summons his own weapon. The fight between childhood friends begins.</p><p>It’s hard; Riku’s earned new tricks and he fights viciously, but it’s three against one. Goofy blocks his hits, Donald distracts him with spells, and Sora goes in for his openings. They soon have him cornered and panting. He jumps back to an open space, and the suit disappears. Riku must see that he’s outmatched because he runs away.</p><p>Beast’s heavy footsteps thump on the ground behind them.</p><p>“So your heart won this battle?” He asks rhetorically. The trio smile and nod.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>After fighting their way through what was most likely <em>the entire fricking castle</em>- he is so tired of this place- Sora and his friends take on Maleficent. It was such a long fight, and so hard, that Sora could almost feel himself wanting to poof. But he can’t now. There’s still more to do.</p><p>She is so much stronger than Riku and takes much longer to wear down, but they do it in the end. As she’s hobbling away, Riku steps out from a dark portal, in his weird darkness suit again.</p><p>“Do you need some help?” he asks her, voice strangely two-toned. Did he scream it out or something?</p><p>“Riku!” Sora calls out as their running comes to a halt.</p><p>Riku turns to them. Donald gasps. “Is that-!”</p><p>“Yes,” Riku lifts it up for them to see better. “A Keyblade.” Sora eyes it warily. It doesn’t look like his Keyblade or any of the forms it takes. This one is darkly colored, sharp, and a vicious hook protrudes from its side. It looks like a can opener, but much, much more dangerous.</p><p>It whistles as he swings it down. “But unlike yours, this Keyblade holds the power to unlock people’s hearts.” His free hand is held out conversationally. “Allow me to demonstrate… Behold.”</p><p>Although they had all been tensing for a fight, Riku unexpectedly swings around and drives the end of that Keyblade deep into Maleficent’s chest. She screams, and hunches over it, forcing it deeper. They all look on in horror as a dark miasma forms around the stab.</p><p>“Now, open your heart, surrender it to the darkness,” Riku demands.</p><p>“Become darkness itself!”</p><p> </p><p>----</p><p> </p><p>Kairi lies on the floor, unmoving and unresponsive. Riku isn’t <em>him</em> anymore, something else is controlling his body. And Sora falls to the floor, taking strangled breaths and clutching his gem. It felt like it just <em>cracked.</em></p><p>“Don’t you see yet? The Princess’s heart is responding.” The imposter tells him. “It has been there all along. Kairi’s heart rests within you!”</p><p>“Kairi… Kairi’s inside me?” Sora gasps. Another pang goes through him, like something trying to claw its way out. No way…</p><p>
  <em>The pink gem? Is that her heart?</em>
</p><p>“I know all that there is to know.” The imposter declares, stalking towards him.</p><p>“Tell me. Who are you?” Sora asks desperately. Who stole his friend? Who’s taken Riku and now wants him and Kairi?</p><p>The imposter seems all too happy to answer. “It is I, Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness.” He responds grandly. Ansem is almost on them now. Donald tries to stop him, but he’s slapped away with an absent backhand and blocked by a barrier like Goofy.</p><p>Ansem now stands above him, and Sora gasps desperately for oxygen. The closer Ansem became, the sharper the pain felt, and he knows when that blade hits him, he’ll be shattered.</p><p>“So, I shall release you now, Princess. Complete the keyhole with your power.” Ansem lifts the blade high into the air, preparing for the killing blow.</p><p>“Open the door, lead me into everlasting darkness!”</p><p>
  <em>Sora!</em>
</p><p>He summons his Keyblade to block before he can register it, and strength pours back into his weak limbs. He looks the imposter straight in the eye. Nothing that is Riku is there anymore.</p><p>“Forget it! There’s no way you’re taking Kairi’s heart!” Sora pushes back, and the battle begins anew.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“Maybe we gotta go wake Kairi up.”</p><p>Right. She needs to be awake again. She needs to have her heart again. That’s why they’re here in the first place. All this action has made Sora’s head scrambled, and he needs to get himself back together.</p><p>“I think you’re right.” He tells Goofy, putting a considering hand on his chin. “If we can free her heart… But…”</p><p>He looks around for some kind of answer. “But how?”</p><p>His gem pangs again. He swallows back the pain and grits his teeth. His gaze is drawn to the floor.</p><p>“A Keyblade that unlocks people’s hearts…” He mutters. “I wonder.”</p><p>He starts stumbling towards it. Everything hurts, he feels as bruised as a fruit that had a fight with a rock. His senses are becoming fuzzy around the edges.</p><p>“Sora?” Goofy asks cautiously. Both him and Donald are watching Sora with concern.</p><p>Sora kneels down and picks the Keyblade up. He doesn’t bother with the hilt.</p><p>Donald and Goofy suddenly get what he’s doing.</p><p>“Sora, hold on!” Goofy yells.</p><p>“No, wait!” Donald screams.</p><p>He grins at them in a way he hopes is reassuring, and with trembling hands turns the blade on himself. He plunges it deep into his gem before they can so much as move. It goes in much easier, smoother than he had thought it would.</p><p>His last hope before he blacks out is that his friends escape safely.</p><p>Donald and Goofy watch their friend, <em>this child they nearly abandoned</em>, cause his own death. They are frozen as his body shines and cracks like blue glass, and pink light shoots from his chest. They pay no heed to the Keyblade doing the same.</p><p>It flies swiftly to Kairi, and she awakens in time to see Sora start falling. All three of them scramble to catch him, but she gets there first. She screams his name and circles her arms around him, and he…</p><p>Shatters.</p><p>Sparkles of light, like fireflies, shoot off around her and disappear like embers. Her ears are deaf to Donald and Goofy’s cries.</p><p>“…Sora?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So It’s been brought to my attention that I’m not entirely sure what I want to do with the gems. Like their powers and abilities are half the fun, but I don’t have anything in mind. If you would like to make a suggestion for me to add and build off of, then I’ll accept them with much appreciation. Please and Thank you!</p><p>I sat there for like an entire half hour waiting for the next scene to come up, wondering if they go through the entire castle. Then I realized I should go the episode titled, “Maleficent &amp; Ansem Boss Fight.” Ah, the pleasures of writing late.</p><p>Can you tell I’m not too interested in writing fight scenes? I just feel like it draws the chapter out too much, you know? I’m much more interested in the interaction between characters. </p><p>Here’s a little snippet of my notes I couldn’t fit in:<br/>Idea: When Ansem takes over Riku he says something like, “he didn’t realize how far he had fallen. And how convenient these gems are, a little rock where the darkness can pool and take one over from the inside out. Almost like hearts.”</p><p>Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment and kudos on you're way out, and for the love of pies please wash your hands and stay at least a one meter (3 feet 3,37 inches, google tells me) away from other people! Until next time!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>In two days our Covid 19 home school begins. The work is gonna twist my brain in new and fun ways, and I can't wait.</p><p>Since i probably won't write much, I'm posting the chapters of this part fast. Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She remembers the first time she ever came here, to this small Island on the South-West side of the main Island. It’s bigger than their Play Island, and is on the opposite side of the chain and has caves much deeper.</p><p>She came here with her father when she was ten, and marvelled at the gorgeously carved archway leading the way in. Torches were placed every few metres on either side of the tunnel, lighting up the beautiful artwork etched and painted into the rock. Her father told her those were murals from before their society had solidified itself. Painted hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago.</p><p>She looks at those murals now, at the grand figures high above and small shapes surrounding them. It’s all straight lines and primary colours - painted with natural dyes into wet clay, she had read in a history book. Basic shapes, no folds or curls. Like when people reform and don’t have their features yet. Where the figures’ gems are placed they used some kind of reflective substance, so even in the little light the torches give, they glow their model’s radiance.</p><p>Deeper into the caves that changes. The edges are painted, still in coloured clay, with beautiful patterns and images, but no people. This was when everyone started to matter, not just the leaders.</p><p>The light reflects off the gems embedded in the walls, their final resting places. Kairi had watched when they slotted Miss Hana’s gem into the specially carved space, right between her family member’s gems. She was an old woman, gifted with a bright Actinolite filling the space where her left eye should have been. She died when her body couldn’t support her anymore.</p><p>That’s how gems die. Old age, when the years break them down and they can’t reform. Disease, when something afflicts the gem, and they slowly stop functioning until they pass. Or shattering, when their gem is utterly destroyed.</p><p>When someone dies, their gem is taken by a family member and measured. The measurements are given to the Keeper of the Caves, who then searches for that family’s space, and carefully carves out a perfect opening. The family is notified, and the funeral is held. The closest family member will say their piece and then smoothly slide the gem in. There it stays.</p><p>The Caves of Remembrance, they call it. Where people go to mourn the dead and admire the shine of those who were. It’s such a beautiful place, with its rainbow lights and sparkling walls. It’s so beautiful, for such a sad reason.</p><p>Kairi looks at the wall where her family is. And right there, next to her father’s mother, is a red tear-shaped stone.</p><p>It’s hers.</p><p>Looking to what is essentially her tombstone, Kairi thinks of why it is there.</p><p>When a gem can’t be recovered, or there are too many small pieces to possibly glue together, a substitute is made. They carve it to match the shape as best they can from stone, then paint it to match the gems’ colour. That is then used in the funeral.</p><p>This is mostly done if people are lost at sea. Usually, they give it one year for them to hopefully come home, but that’s for a fully grown adult. For two fourteen-year-olds and a fifteen-year-old, who were lost in the worst storm anyone had seen in decades…</p><p>Kairi’s not surprised to know all three of them have substitutes. She would have given up hope too if she didn’t have more faith in her friends than that.</p><p>She’s only seen hers. If she had to look at Sora or Riku’s she has no idea what she would do. Because they <em>are </em>coming back. She refuses to believe anything else.</p><p>Since Kairi didn’t have a gem, her father and the Keeper had to get creative. They based it off her teardrop necklace and painted it the colour of her hair, a red-brown that shines like the other gems. It’s beautiful. Her chest goes cold when she sees it.</p><p>Kairi leaves the caves and heads to her rowboat. She doesn’t want to look at it anymore.</p><p>Later, as she stands on the edge of the Play island, she looks to the horizon.</p><p><em>They will come back</em>, Kairi tells herself. Sora will find Riku, and they’ll come back. Then they’ll <em>never </em>be separated from her again. She swears to the stars and to the stones that she’ll find a way to keep her friends safe because she <em>knows</em> that won’t be the end of it.</p><p>People who are given power are called upon again and again until they can’t fight anymore. And a destiny like what Sora has, and his power… It’s the same in every story. Someone like Sora will keep giving until they can’t. She doesn’t want to see that happen.</p><p>And Riku, like a fallen hero lost to his own faults, will either spend his life making up for his mistakes or die to them.</p><p>She has no way off the Islands, no way to track them. So she’ll be their protector. She’ll be their healer, their guiding star home.</p><p>Kairi’s a Star Rose Quartz now, after all. This stone on her stomach can’t be just decorative.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>It’s dark here.</p><p>No, that’s a stupid and ‘<em>no duh</em>’ thing to say. <em>Of course, it’s dark here, idiot,</em> he scowls to himself, <em>you’re in the Realm of Darkness.</em></p><p>But it’s strange. He knows what it’s called, and he knows what lives here, but for some reason, he wasn’t expecting this all-encompassing, light consuming <em>emptiness</em>. He was expecting the same darkness he walked in when night fell on the Islands.</p><p>Only then there were stars, and he could hear the ocean from anywhere he stood. The wind would rustle the leaves and the nocturnal animals would dart between bushes and homes. Houses at the edge of the Island would have lit lanterns hanging by the porches, in case the sailors came home early.</p><p>Not here, though. Here it’s deathly quiet, like those tense seconds when you know something dangerous is behind you, but you’re too afraid to look. The dirt is dead and has no wind to move it, and no plants can grow. Sometimes he can hear things, but those are either Heartless or his ears playing tricks.</p><p>Mickey has an easier time navigating this place. He says the crystals provide enough light to see the path by, but when he pointed them out all Riku saw was more rock. Neither of them understands why he can’t see anything further than his nose. Mickey often holds his hand to guide him through the uneven parts of the terrain.</p><p>It’s ironic. He used to pull his friends along, and now someone has to pull <em>him</em>.</p><p>It’s not so easy when the Heartless attack. At the beginning Riku tried to stay out of the way, swinging blindly at them until Mickey could take them out. It got easier when he started recognizing what they smell like and could use their scent to track them.</p><p>Pain is the best teacher, some say.</p><p>Mickey had asked him what he was smelling, once. “All I can pick is salt and something ashy, but that’s everywhere. How are you finding them, Riku?” He had asked curiously. Riku had squinted to locate where his face was, then closed his eyes when pain spiked through his head.</p><p>“I just… smell them. Like uh…” He took a moment to think, and Mickey let him, catching Riku when he nearly tripped over a stone in his concentration. Riku thanked him.</p><p>“Oh, I know,” He said quietly a bit later. Mickey made an inquisitive sound, scanning their surroundings again.</p><p>“It’s like after it rains,” Riku explained. “Everything is wet, and you can smell it, but some spots are just more… musty? Like moss and lakes. It’s like that, but it’s condensed in Heartless.”</p><p>“So Heartless smell like rain.”</p><p>Riku snorted loudly, bemused, “I <em>wish</em>, but no. They smell… uh, this is hard to explain. Let’s say it smells heavy. Like if the Realm of Light is milk chocolate, then the Realm of Darkness is really dark chocolate. Does that make sense?”</p><p>Mickey had hummed, then smiled. “I guess so. <em>Whoa, watch out!</em>” Riku was yanked by the back of his shirt and learned a moment later that he nearly walked into a ditch.</p><p>So he can’t see anything. Riku guesses that’s fair. He was so blinded by his anger and jealousy, and so deep in the Darkness, that his eyes don’t get to work anymore.</p><p>It might be because the Darkness has seeped into his gem. He hasn’t noticed any other effects, so this could likely be the result. Like when someone cracks, and they can’t move one of their limbs until they heal or poof.</p><p>Riku refuses to complain. He’s made his mistakes, and he will accept the consequences. Maybe when he redeems himself for everything he’s done, he’ll be allowed to see the light again.</p><p>Maybe then Riku will be able to look his friends in the eyes.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>These white halls with their white walls loom over her, reflecting the hollow space where her heart should be. The silence rings loud in her ears, and she feels like if she moves then she’ll draw attention of a predator in a place where nothing should be.</p><p>Naminé tries to convince herself she’s not afraid.</p><p>It’s not just herself she has to lie to. There’s also the Organisation, who drilled it into her that Nobodies can’t feel. Vexen, who tells her to stop pretending. Marluxia and Larxene, who will prey on that fear, and rip her apart piece by piece.</p><p>But she can’t help it. Can’t stop her pencil from dragging unevenly on the paper. Not when they look over her shoulders and mock her with dolls in cages.</p><p>She feels most afraid when Marluxia restrains her, and Larxene holds a vase of water over her forehead, tipping it threateningly.</p><p>“Aww, what’s wrong? Is the witch scared of a little water?” Larxene likes to crow, then laugh when some water hits Naminé’s cheek and her breathing becomes panicked. Naminé thinks what she feels for Vexen is hatred, because he’s the one who told them scapolite is water-soluble.</p><p>When they think Naminé isn’t working enough or listening enough, or they’re just in the mood, then they threaten her. Trace the white scapolite on her forehead and tap their fingers over it’s smooth, round surface. It’s small, 2 centimetres in diameter and so easy for them to crush between their cruel fingers.</p><p>She has a new task, beyond tests and research. Marluxia and Larxene want her to keep an eye on Sora, and use her power to <em>change</em> him. To take hold of his chains of memories, and manipulate them to turn Sora into their puppet.</p><p>The fastest way to do that, Naminé had said demurely, would be for her to take the memories of his most precious people, hide them away, and put herself in their places. Then Sora would do anything for her. Larxene had cackled at Naminé that she was so selfish, wanting him all to herself. Marluxia told her to get to work, or they’d bring out the vase again.</p><p>Vexen cared less for their plan, and more for the research opportunity this presented.</p><p>Naminé carefully chose who she would wipe away, as to best fit herself in. She sketched a space to introduce herself, then put down eraser marks to show why she isn’t in the rest of the chain.</p><p>As the pages go on Kairi is blotted out with a wet cloth and hid behind the background scenery. Not gone, just hard to find. Chosen because she’s so far away from Sora right now, that she can’t remind him of her before Naminé is done.</p><p>Sometimes, Naminé likes to imagine she was really there, on those beaches with the three friends, playing and laughing and free. She doesn’t do it often, because afterwards there’s a heavy feeling that makes her want to stop drawing, to warn Sora to run away before it’s too late. She thinks it’s called guilt.</p><p>All she can do now is draw, and erase, and blot out. She has to make him loyal, show him she’s in danger. Then he’ll defeat the Organisation, and she’ll be free.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I decided to be funny and write about funeral traditions, right after Sora’s maybe-death. I really wanna know if I threw anyone for a loop. I also had Kairi think about it, cause she’s the only one on the Island, and she needs more screen time.</p><p>Fun fact. The song I currently associate with her is Runaway by Aurora. Check it out!</p><p>If you wear glasses, then you know well the pain of squinting all day to see things. I had daily headaches for two years before we realized I needed glasses. </p><p>It is so hard to find out if you can put specific gems in water. Like, you would think to just google it, but I had to dig to find anything. And none of it said anything about water, so in the end I have no idea. Thus I have decided to use creative license and say, yes, scapolite will dissolve if wet.</p><p>Also they call Naminé a witch, and what happens in fairy tales when a witch gets wet?</p><p>Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment and kudos on your way out and make your hands super-squicky-clean! Preferably with soap! Stay safe and I'll see you next time!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So apparently Agrabah comes before Monstro, but whoops. Too late to change now.</p><p>Also I've noticed everyone having Donald teach Sora, but people seem to forget Goofy's also got a pretty high up position, namely as a knight. And all that bending over can't be good for Sora's posture. I looked at a pic of kh1 Sora next to his Keyblade, it's kinda cute how short he is compared to it.</p><p>The Max and co. bit is inspired by The Things You Don't Come Back From by greeneggs101 for timetoboldlygo. May I suggest you go read it? No? I will anyway.</p><p>Go read it.</p><p>Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment and kudos on your way out, and maybe wash your hands for about 20 seconds afterwards! Stay safe during these trying times! See you next time!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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